A total solar eclipse will be visible across the U.S. this Monday, August 21. Thousands of people from coast to coast are preparing to observe this amazing sight, but if you’re one of them, be sure to learn from this man’s mistake.
Nbcbayarea.com reports that Lou Tomososki from Portland, Oregon was a high school student in 1962. That year, his teacher told his class about a partial solar eclipse that was going to occur that afternoon. Tomososki and his friend, Roger, both went outside to view the eclipse.
"The sun at that time, at 3:30 p.m., was in the one o’clock position," Tomososki recalled. "I said to Roger, 'If you stare at it long enough the brightness goes away.'"
That turned out to be a dangerous mistake. That night, both Tomososki and Roger were experiencing vision problems. They both have those vision problems to this day.
"You know how the news people blur a license plate out," said Tomososki. "That’s what I have on the right eye, about the size of a pea, I can’t see around that."
Now, at 70, Tomososki is warning others not to make the same mistake he made all those years ago.
Dr. Brandon Lujan of the Casey Eye Institute in Oregon is also warning people to use protective glasses to view the eclipse. Looking at the solar eclipse “even an instant” can damage your eyes, says Lujan.
As for Tomososki, he said he will view this eclipse, but he definitely won’t look right at the sun. "I’m going to go out and enjoy it. But I’ll stand and watch it get dark," he said.
Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/warioman
Publication date: August 18, 2017
